Revenant
by SomethinaboutMarco
Summary: The Diamond Authority fought to establish it's dominance within the galaxy, crushing any opposition it encountered. When a system goes dark however, the great Gem empire is forced to come face to face with long thought buried demons.


A/N: Been reading these fics for a while, and thought I'd give it a go. Major credit to Missie2 for allowing me to incorporate some of the lore they've created. Check out their work if you want a good read! Anyway, criticism welcome, help me better my shitty writing.

. . . . . . .

The first signs began as small anomalies.

Small blips on the edge of planetary sensors in Homeworld controlled systems; leftover energy fields from slip-space tears picked up by cruiser scanners; small snippets of artificial radio waves caught by communication hubs.

Protocol dictated that these small, yet numerous occurrences be ignored; Authority substrate and gem production would not be hindered by a few unidentified, inferior spacecraft.

Reports on said occurrences soon dwindled to zero; no point in recording incidents that didn't affect anything regarding gem-related affairs.

However, that didn't stop curious stones from taking notice.

A Topaz observed a small flotilla of frigate-class ships skirt around the edge of her system on planetary sensors; A Peridot assigned to a Kindergarten in the Epsilon Indi system tracked a lone cruiser as it tailed her transport vessel, and was awestruck as it seemingly blinked out of existence.

Thousands of gems across hundreds of systems all experienced these encounters, yet orders were to ignore them, and carry on business as usual.

The machine churned on.

Finally, as more and more gems experienced an encounter of some kind, word of these anomalies had passed from gem to gem, all the way into the upper echelons of Homeworld society. After full five cycles had passed since they had begun, the Diamonds finally decided to investigate.

Of course, by then, it was far too late.

The Sokar System was located on the edge of Authority-controlled space, used as an outpost along the edge of the galactic frontier. Being as such, it contained only one planet suitable for gem production, the small, continental world of Tallinn Sigma.

Being a Type B planet, it was just stable enough to sustain two Kindergartens, as well as provided numerous substrate collection facilities. Manned by a few thousand gems, the planet was as secure as any other in Authority space, as few species could withstand the might of a few dozen Quartz divisions.

The incident occurred during the middle of a cycle, when all contact with the system, planet and outer stations alike, were lost. Initial analysis of the situation came to the idea that some form of solar flare had occurred, temporarily jamming communications. However, when a communication hub from the same sector tried to make contact with Tallinn Sigma, a high-frequency signal was returned, short-circuiting the facility's mainframe, and causing the forms of the technicians manning the station to fluctuate.

This was no solar flare.

Something was deliberately jamming communications to and from the planet.

An expeditionary force was soon set underway to investigate the rapidly alarming situation. A few cruisers accompanied by a transport ship carrying a company of jaspers, more than enough to handle any situation they came across. Once the fleet passed into the system, however, it too lost contact.

Then came the video transmissions.

They were broken, garbled pieces of static that first transmitted to only one sector, but they soon spread throughout the reaches of the empire. As they continued to transmit, images began to filter through, as well as pieces of audio that made any gem listening uneasy.

Yells, commands, explosions, gunfire; the sounds of conflict. Images of Jasper's and Amethysts running to their positons, technician gems like Peridot's and Chalcedonies desperately trying to repair damaged equipment, unknown vessels dropping pods and dropships from low orbit. All the citizens of Homeworld could do was watch. As the images became clearer, so did the situation.

Tallinn Sigma was being invaded.

Soon, images of the enigmatic aggressors began to emerge. Large masses of black, bipedal creatures, clothed in metal. Helmets hiding any noticeable physical features. They moved quickly, assaulting from every direction, overwhelming any gem resistance they came across. They were powerful, besting even the mightiest of Amethysts, the strongest of Jaspers, and they were fast.

They were a blur in the robonoid video feed.

It didn't take long for most gems to recognize these individuals.

They were, after all, the only species that could rival Homeworld.

Many gems observing the feed dismissed that subject of thought. That civilization was wiped out over three thousand years ago by Homeworld itself.

But as more video came through, and more glimpses of these creatures were observed, it was hard to dismiss the similarities.

They even had the same language, if the language they shouted orders in was anything to go by.

Finally, as the shell-shock seemed to wear off, the remaining gem forces managed to establish a front; stopping the lighting fast advance of the faceless enemy.

It was then, however, when the shrieking began.

Every veteran gem knew that sound; it was the reason they had fought a war for their species very existence.

Signals from the planet began to fade at this point, the various feeds beginning to slip into nothing but static. Before the final signal died, a lone robonoid, most likely attached to a Jasper unit, transmitted one final image.

It was undeniable: Six legs, the insect like outer shell, the tell-tale blade-tipped tail.

The greatest threat Homeworld had ever faced,

And they were working in tandem with a supposedly dead civilization, the likes of which the gem empire had never encountered in its long reign across the galaxy.

Immediately, the Diamonds ordered the marshaling of its military forces, prioritizing the production of combat ready gems across all systems.

However, when the Epsilon Phi system went dark the following cycle, the great Diamond Authority knew,

They were fighting ghosts.


End file.
